Node-locked licensing limits how many devices can activate a license. Once a device has been activated, it occupies one of the available activations until it is removed or deactivated.

This model is widely used for desktop applications, engineering software, internal business tools, and products where licenses are assigned to individual users or workstations.

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Implementation Resources

• Licensing Models Overview
• Full Documentation on Node-Locking
• Video Walkthrough

If you're evaluating different licensing models, continue reading to understand when node-locking is the right choice and how it behaves in production.

When to Use Node-Locked Licensing

Node-locked licensing works well when a license should remain associated with a specific computer for an extended period.

Typical use cases include:

• Desktop applications installed on employee workstations
• Engineering and CAD software
• Scientific or laboratory software
• Internal business applications
• Products sold per seat or per device

Because activations remain assigned to individual machines, organizations have predictable license usage and clear control over how many devices can access the software.

If your users frequently move between machines or virtual environments, Floating Licensing is often a better fit.

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How Node-Locked Licensing Works

Each license defines the maximum number of devices that may activate it.

When a user activates the application, the SDK generates a machine identifier and registers that device with the license.

If additional devices attempt to activate the license after the limit has been reached, activation is denied until an existing device is removed.

Unlike floating licensing, activations are persistent. A device continues to occupy an activation until it is explicitly deactivated or removed.

This makes node-locking particularly suitable for environments where users work on dedicated machines rather than frequently switching between computers.

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How Devolens Implements Node-Locked Licensing

Node-locked licensing is built directly into the Devolens licensing platform.

For each license you define the maximum number of allowed devices. The SDK handles activation and validation, while Devolens tracks activated machines and enforces the configured limit.

From the dashboard you can:

• View activated devices for each license
• Remove old or replaced machines
• Review activation history
• Configure different activation limits for different license types

The same licensing model works with all supported SDKs, making it straightforward to offer consistent licensing behavior for different products and programming languages.

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Related Capabilities

Node-locked licensing is often combined with other licensing capabilities depending on how your product is sold.

You may also want to explore:

• Floating Licensing, for limiting concurrent usage instead of activated devices
• Offline License Verification, when applications must continue working without internet access
• Subscription Licensing, for time-limited licenses and automatic renewals